As Christians, we live as both sinners and saints through Christ’s death and resurrection, and we embrace that tension. The Law still applies to our lives, but the Gospel frees us. As I age, I am aware that I need to live with the wisdom I have accumulated through the years, but still have the curiosity and playfulness of a child to fully embrace the life that God has given me. Life involves balancing competing senses and priorities.
I am convinced that this the proper approach towards artificial intelligence (AI) as well. AI, while not being neutral, is neither a hero nor a villain. Recently, I have seen posts and videos completely decrying any use of AI, and even its presence at all. While many concerns exists, from what it might be doing to our ability to learn and problem solve to its environmental impact, God has allowed AI to emerge during our lives, and we have the responsibility to both soberly assess the challenges and opportunities with AI. But AI is not a hero. While there are benefits to how we live and work, it is not going to solve all our problems as a society, especially in this world corrupted by sin.
Therefore, I believe that the proper approach to assessing AI and education is to find the middle ground — to prayerfully review both the challenges and opportunities. Our current society prefers to label the extremes, such as good or evil, liberal or conservative, etc. But often the best approach embraces a messy middle ground. This is true for AI and education as well.
It is easy to label. It is more difficult and challenging to discern. I pray that we will all proceed with this type of wisdom and discernment in the coming months and years.
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